March 16, 2016 // Local

Around the Diocese: March 20, 2016

Todays Catholic

Kroger donates to Bishop Luers Capital Campaign

FORT WAYNE — Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne has received a $5,000 donation from Kroger towards Phase II of the school’s capital campaign, “Faith in Our Future.”

Phase II includes building a new chapel, a new performing arts assembly hall, media center and complete improvements to the school infrastructure.

For more information about our capital campaign, visit www.BishopLuers.org/campaign.

Center of Liturgy to host Merton lecture

NOTRE DAME — The Notre Dame Center of Liturgy will host the lecture, “The Mystical Fire of Christ’s Charity: Thomas Merton on the Mass,” by Gregory K. Hillis, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, Bellarmine University. This event will take place on Thursday, March 31, 7-8 p.m. in 140 De Bartolo Hall, the University of Notre Dame. This lecture is free and open to the public.

St. Vincent to offer ‘Tenebrae’

FORT WAYNE — St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Fort Wayne, will offer “Tenebrae” — a musical meditation on the seven “last words” of Christ on the cross — at the church located at 1502 E. Wallen Rd. on Good Friday, March 25, at 8:30 p.m. Tenebrae is the Latin word for “darkness.” The gradual extinguishing of all candles in the church symbolizes the temporary triumph of the prince of darkness over the Light of the World. The loud noise, or strepitus, at the conclusion of the service suggests the earthquake described in the Passion narratives. The single candle left burning, the Paschal candle, is the symbol and promise of Christ’s triumph over death and darkness.

Carter Snead named to Pontifical Academy for Life

NOTRE DAME — Carter Snead, William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics and Culture and professor of law, has been appointed to the Pontifical Academy for Life, the pope’s principal advisory group on the promotion of the consistent ethic of life in the Catholic Church.

Founded in 1994 by Pope John Paul II, the academy meets annually, holds conferences, publishes reports and collaborates with partners in the Vatican Curia and worldwide.

“I am honored and humbled to serve the Holy Father and the Church as it continues its efforts to defend and bear witness to the inalienable dignity of every member of the human family, born and unborn,” Snead said.

“We are thrilled Carter Snead, and, by extension, Notre Dame, has been given this opportunity to serve the Church in our efforts to build a culture of life worldwide,” said University president Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins.

Snead traveled to Rome in March for the academy’s annual assembly, where he met Pope Francis in a private audience.

“This is a wonderful honor and a powerful example of Notre Dame’s continued service to the Church both locally, nationally and at the Vatican,” said Holy Cross Father William M. Lies, Notre Dame’s vice president for mission engagement and Church affairs.

The academy’s 110 members are drawn from all over the world and from a wide variety of academic fields, including medicine, science, law, public policy, philosophy and theology. Snead, one of 12 Americans in the academy, is the second Notre Dame faculty member to be appointed, joining John M. Finnis, Biolchini Family Professor of Law, who was appointed in 2001.

Former Catholic Rural Life head gets posthumous award

MINNEAPOLIS (CNS) — The late Brother David Andrews, a Holy Cross brother who served 12 years as head of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, was posthumously given the National Farmers Union’s highest honor during its March 4-7 convention in Minneapolis.

Brother Andrews received the Meritorious Service Award, the highest honor the organization’s board of directors can bestow on an individual. It is conferred upon those who have made particularly noteworthy contributions to agriculture, humanity and the National Farmers Union at the state and national levels.

Brother Andrews conceived of the “Eating Is a Moral Act” campaign of the rural life conference, now known as Catholic Rural Life. “I think I’ve achieved a lot of the goals I’ve set for myself in the National Catholic Rural Life Conference,” he told Catholic News Service in a 2007 interview as his tenure neared an end. “The NCRLC got put back on the map, nationally as well as internationally. We have a fully professional staff.”

After his time with Catholic Rural Life, Brother Andrews served as a senior representative for Food and Water Watch, which advocates for contaminant-free waterways, food production and distribution systems. Health issues forced his retirement in 2014. He died in January of the following year.

A 2008 study on industrial farming practices that Brother Andrews co-wrote with Tim Kautza, then a science and environmental education specialist with Catholic Rural Life, said, “What began with a pursuit of efficiency to improve production for all farms has unintentionally resulted in a decline in economic freedom for them and an imbalance of economic power favoring dominant firms within the industry, rather than individual producers.”

It added: “It is clear that industrialized animal production has adverse impacts on rural communities. The consolidation of the nation’s animal agriculture has led to a more concentrated, industrialized model, which has had dramatic and increasingly problematic impacts on rural communities and the traditional farm.”

“Through his work, he was actively involved in protecting small-scale farmers by advocating for stronger enforcement of antitrust regulations,” the National Farmers Union said in a statement announcing the award. “Brother Andrews served also as a senior adviser to (Maryknoll Father) Miguel D’Escoto, president of the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations, and met with Vatican leaders to address world hunger and humanity issues.”

Empowered to Connect conference planned

SOUTH BEND — The Empowered to Connect Conference is a two day web simulcast designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders, churches, and professionals better understand how to connect with “children from hard places” in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be. This conference is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption or foster care and those who are serving and supporting others. This includes social workers, agency professionals, church staff and ministry leaders, counselors, therapists and others.

St. Joseph Parish will be hosting the conference April 8- 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Founder’s Hall in the Ackles Parish Life Center at 711 E. Colfax Ave.,

The conference costs $25 with checks made payable to St. Joseph Parish. Coffee and light refreshments will be available; participants will be responsible for lunch on their own each day.

Register online at stjoeparish.com or the parish office at 574-234-3134. Contact Janel Charlton at [email protected] or Erin Seeley at [email protected] for information.

USF School of Creative Arts offering summer music and arts programs

FORT WAYNE — The University of Saint Francis School of Creative Arts is hosting a chamber music academy July 18-22 for high school students in grades 9-12 at the USF North Campus, 2702 Spring St. Classes run 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and an awards ceremony will be held July 22.

Children in grades 1-8 can also learn several art skills through the program “Art in the Morning,” from July 5 through July 22 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Mimi and Ian Rolland Art and Visual Communication Center

The cost is $125 for each child and includes all materials and instructional fees. For a registration form or further information, contact the USF School of Creative Arts at 260-399-7700, ext. 8001.

Bishop Dwenger High School wins Regional Science Olympiad

FORT WAYNE — The Bishop Dwenger High School Science Olympiad team recently competed at regionals and took home the first-place trophy. The team earned medals in 23 of the 26 events, and had nine first-place finishes. Bishop Dwenger Science Olympiad is in its fifth year. This is the first year they have won regionals, and the third consecutive year they have qualified for the state tournament. The team starts preparing in early September by doing research for their events and by designing and building devices such as bridges, airplanes and robotic arms.

Students earning awards include: second-place aerial scrambler — Ben Howe, Zach Hensler; first-place air trajectory — Nikki Gloudemans, Claire Roberts with Ben Howe (build and design crew); first-place astronomy — Jake Gloudemans, Kyle Weingartner; third-place anatomy and physiology — Ryan McArdle, Nick Thelen; first-place bridge building — Max DiFilippo, Patrick Morr; second-place cell biology — Sam Fair, Ryan McArdle; second-place chem lab — Max DiFilippo, Kevin LaMaster; first-place disease detectives — Sam Fair, Nikki Gloudemans with Abby Brelage, Korinne Ellert (support crew); second-place dynamic planet — Nick Thelen, Mike Voors; first-place electric vehicle — Adam and Patrick Morr; third-place environmental chemistry — Max DiFilippo, Chino Eke; second-place forensics — Laura Carroll, Nick Thelen; fourth-place fossils — Sam Fair, Gabe Nicholson with Megan Brelage (binder crew); third-place game on — Gabe Nicholson, Kyle Weingartner; second-place geologic mapping — Max DiFilippo, Nick Thelen; first-place hydrogeology — Nikki Gloudemans, Claire Roberts; second-place invasive species — Megan Brelage, Mike Voors; whole team (binder crew); first-place it’s about time — Megan Brelage, Jake Gloudemans; first-place protein modeling — Jake Gloudemans, Kevin LaMaster, Ryan McArdle; first-place robot arm — Jake Gloudemans, Kyle Weingartner; second-place wind power — Megan Brelage, Claire Roberts with Abby Brelage, Nikki  Gloudemans (support crew); third-place wright stuff — Adam Morr, Gabe Nicholson; and 5th place write it do it — Laura Carroll and Mike Voors.